SCI/TECH: Flying Cars going into production

These deathtraps and moneypits (my lawsuit instincts tell me to dam' them as a class) are worth noting only as experimental footnotes. Time spent on the ground is not deducted from your lifespan.

Oh great...it's bad enough the road is filled with people who shouldn't be given a licence to operate a pair of sneakers muchless an automobile, they wanna put em in the air as well. A former girl-friend once claimed that the reason I didn't drive was because I was afraid of cars. I told her that no I was not afraid of cars. They were fine parked beside the road and made great planters, it was drivers that I was terrified of. The only good thing I can see coming out of this is when they start dropping out of the sky because they were too busy talking on their cell phones to notice their flight time was up.

A lot of good questions and concerns about the risks of riding flying cars by others here. It's very important to consider all risk factors, dangers and safety issues before flying cars would become the norm in the future. You know we all have crazy drivers on the roads, road rage and all's that, now consider we may have crazy flying car riders in the sky, flying-rage and such-such.

Anybody remembers seeing the movie, "The Fifth Element"?

Sure, the "AirScooter" looks very odd, but hey, so did the first cars, planes, etc.

Remember, as with all inventions, they will get better with time. Look at what we went from with cars, from the Model-T to the Ferrari

They'll get better, just give it time.

-wD

As for now, I have some grand in the bank, might have to look into this thing...

All it takes is for this AirScooter to make a few rounds in the general public and soon Ford, Chrysler, and GM will be looking to the skies. Sure, the begining stages will be awkward, and perhaps very dangerous, but so was the Model T. I think it's very ignorrant to dismiss the whole idea just because personal transport via flight is not in a perfected stage right now.

Without sufficient mass and moment in the rotating lift members (you know, like a real helicopter rotor), an engine-out landing becomes impossible without parachutes. In other words, a flamed-out turbine VTOL or minicopter glides like a rock. Add a rudimentary wing and you've got more weight, more drag, more cost, and you still wind up cutting off someone's legs on the ground during rush hour traffic. As for parachutes, we don't wear 'em in helicopters. They don't call 'em choppers for nothing. Ejection seats can work- but they break your bones, shatter your eardrums, and generally ruin your day, quite often when deployed.

Now I don't want to discourage you from flying. Or dreaming. But please learn in a real aircraft from certificated instructors.

There is no free lunch. Wish there was.

You might think these things would be okay if you just stayed low like Luke Skywalker's speeder. I know a guy who fell out of the sky from three feet up when a student chopped the throttle on a practice hovering autorotation. The blades drooped and cut off the tail boom and the ship disintegrated. My buddy still has a bad back. Three feet is a long way to fall at thirty-two feet per second, per second. Add to that the personal VTOL-joy of 'sliding on greased ice and hitting the barn wall' at what? Thirty miles an hour? Sixty? Gravity kills, and so does kinetic energy. Concentrate on learning to control gravity and inertia- when you succeed, I will invest my life savings in your work.

[edit on 18-4-2005 by Chakotay]

Originally posted by chaosrain

Originally posted by Flinx
Flying cars MUST become a reality. I don't have any good reason, why besides the fact that I've always dreamed of having them and they're just plain cool.

Must is taking it a bit too far. The average vehicle operator cannot successfully pull his/her car out of a spin, does not take care to maintian assured clear distance, does not obey speed limits, and gets into at least one major vehicle accident in their driving lifetimes.

So you're advocating that we add a whole new impact surface to the equation...the ground...because it's cool? I suggest you visit Angola for a tattoo and piercing session amidst a Marburg virus outbreak. Tattoos and piercings are cool too right?

We will not even see hover cars w/in the next 20 years because of the introduction of a new impact surface, let alone ultralight pseudo air-cars.

Do I think it would be neat? Sure. Do I think that the average car driver is sufficiently responsible to operate one? Hell no. Teach drivers to drive before you make them fly.

Actually, no I don't think tattoos and piercings are cool....flying cars are.

As to the rest of your problems with flying cars, did I not mention that aircar traffic would be automated? Yes, I believe I did. So like I said, bad drivers don't really matter. Some of you afraid to ride in something that's not under your control? Well I suggest you don't get in an airliner or on a bus.

You guys can throw as much cold water as you want on this great concept, but you won't stop progress No, you won't stop me from getting the flying car I've been dreaming of having for my entire life. If you think I'll let something like accident potential or "practicality" get in my way, you're sorely mistaken. So there.

Anyway, I suggest people read up on the features of these machines before dismissing them as hard to control, impractical, deathtraps. There's always people poo-pooing new inventions, many of which turn out to be the next big thing...



[edit on 4/19/2005 by Flinx]

Originally posted by SkipShipman
You can clearly see history of the 1970s "oil crisis," as it has been proven to be a total fraud, a "phoney gas crisis." So far they are simply raising prices gradually, while reducing refining capacity. There is enough oil in Alaska to run the United States for 100 years and more. So consider the Diamond cartel, and why a low grade semi precious stone is sold for thousands of dollars due to total control of the market. 100 dollar a barrel Oil is the product of a planned scarcity, as well as a controlled media.

Peak Oil is corporate rubbish.

well spotted. you got it. except for the 'liberal' part. there are no teams, there is only the almighty corporation.

I live right by Chicago. I can just imagine it. People would be scared to death. Planes crashing down everysingle day. Into house, streets, you name it. People cant drive the way it is. Put all of those things up there and it would be like a non-stop kamikazee attack. Kinda of a funny image though.

Also, what about cops and speed limits. Do the same DUI laws apply? What if your plane is faster? Or just buzz up to Canada. Hmm, I can go on all night. Better chill..

(posted by SkipShipman)
So consider the Diamond cartel, and why a low grade semi precious stone is sold for thousands of dollars due to total control of the market.

Are you talking about coarse, industrial-grade diamonds, or do you mean diamonds in general? In the latter case, no degree of overpricing will ever be reason enough to look down upon the glorious diamond. There have always been & will always be four & only four precious stones, the other three being the ruby, the sapphire & the emerald.
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